Reel Deal: Salmon bite picking up around Crescent City

From left to right, Don Neilsen, Larry Biggs, Lonnie Dollarhyde and John Anderson, all of Humboldt County, got their limits of chinook salmon by 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Courtesy of Reel Steel Sportfishing

Rough ocean conditions will be keeping ocean anglers at bay at least through Monday, but the Crescent City salmon bite is picking up when the ocean lays down and “lingcod are going crazy.”

Crescent City ocean fishing

High winds and gusts will persist through much of the area through at least Monday, but ocean anglers should jump when the seas calm down as more salmon have started to be caught out of Crescent City Harbor, according to folks from Englund Marine Supply in Crescent City.

The chinook salmon are larger too, coming in 20 to 25 pounds on average, according to Loren Taylor of Englund Marine.

“They’re out there; people just got to get out and get them,” Taylor said.

As for bottom fishing, “lingcod are going crazy,” Taylor said, and can be found all over the area.

Brookings-Harbor ocean fishing

The same rough ocean report holds true above the border, but the six salmon checked into the harbor Friday made for the best salmon day so far, according to Roland Robertson of Chetco Outdoor Store.

The lingcod bite has been spotty this past week, but that could be from low pressure due to weather, Robertson said.

The surfperch bite has returned at a fairly decent rate, with redtail and rubberlip perch being caught around the jetties.

Eureka ocean

On most fishing days in the past week, Reel Steel Sportfishing caught limits of salmon before 9 a.m. On other days, the charter boat comes a salmon or two shy of limits, but either way the salmon are coming in a bit larger.

Despite a few attempts, Reel Steel has not been able to locate many halibut the past week.

Trinidad ocean

Same story with high seas, but salmon fishing was “epic” right off the 41 line last weekend, with anglers getting limits just 20 to 60 feet down, according to folks at Salty’s Supply Co. Surf, Skate & Tackle in Trinidad.

Rockfishing has been slow, but lingcod continue to bite if you target them with big lures.

With more people targeting salmon than anything else since the bite has picked up, it’s difficult to judge the quality of halibut fishing from Trinidad right now, Salty’s workers said.

Klamath River spring salmon

Spring salmon on the lower Klamath has been very slow this year and the river is already surprisingly mossy for this time of year, according to Mick Thomas of Lunker Fish Trips.